England Premier League
Saturday 18th September 2021
Kick off at 3pm BST
Venue: Turf Moor
Match Preview:
A few seasons ago you could be mistaken for thinking that Burnley were the new Bolton- a team who would punch above their own weight and upset teams like Arsenal. However once Burnley qualified for the Europa League a few seasons ago a worrying trend has set in and that has been how slow they are to get going in Premier League campaigns.
Last season Sean Dyche’s side finished in 17th place, they were fine because there was a gap of 11 points to the bottom three, but still, unless you are a newcomer to the league finishing 17th is nothing to get excited about. This season Burnley are in 18th place and are searching for their first win of the season. This weekend they face Arsenal a side who have not started well themselves, but this is still Arsenal who possess quality players who can more than hurt Dyche’s team.
Burnley have lost 3 of their 4 games played, last weekend they were defeated away to Everton though had taken the lead in that game. The clubs only point so far came at home against Leeds with that game finishing 1-1.
Arsenal climbed out of the bottom of the Premier League heap to a mighty 16th place after they narrowly beat Norwich 1-0 at the Emirates. The performance from the Gunners was adequate but it hasn’t turned any heads and the critics are still out in force. It was Arsenal’s first victory of the season though and manager Mikel Arteta will be hoping that the feeling of winning a game can now spur the team on to going on a winning run. That is easier said than done.
As it stands then everything remains the same for Arsenal, the pressure cooker is still on and they are still relying on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s goals to get them out of trouble. What did feel different in midweek is that the Gunners did not play in any European competition. This is the first time for a generation of fans to witness since the last time it happened was 25 years ago. Perhaps it could be a blessing in disguise for Arteta for his players to have that extra rest?
Team News:
Burnley: Kevin Long will be assessed because of fitness issues it is the same problem for Connor Roberts.
Arsenal: Rob Holding is back in training but will miss out here but should be back at the end of the month. Granit Xhaka is serving a 3 game suspension for his red card earlier in the month.
Burnley vs Arsenal Head to Head:
Arsenal failed to beat Burnley last season and this fixture ended 1-1.
Arsenal have won 7 out of the last 10 games against Burnley.
The last 3 meetings have all ended in under 2.5 goals.
Burnley have not tasted victory against Arsenal when at home since 1973 in the league.
Burnley vs Arsenal Prediction
Burnley will try and raise their game for this match and hope that the home fans will be able to create a good atmosphere, look at what happened at Brentford for Arsenal. The worry though is that as this game goes on the quality of this Arsenal side will tell. So they may have to weather the storm at times and Burnley have some quality players of their own. But it will be interesting to see if Dyche changes formation and goes for a more defence like minded side.
Dyche’s view could be to keep the score low, a battering for his side at this point will do nothing for his players. At the same time Burnley may have little to fear, this is not vintage Arsenal. Arteta has talked about a new page for the club and a new motivation now they have won a game, could the club be like a wounded animal and come out all guns blazing or will they be tamed yet again? We think the price on the away win is very good and Arsenal traditionally have a very good record at this stadium.
Burnley vs Arsenal Betting Tips:
Arsenal to beat Burnley at 2.00
Anytime goalscorer: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at 2.10
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